On Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010, the students and faculty held their annual Christmas party in the fellowship hall of EL Church Forest Hills. Led in singing of Christmas songs by Ptr. Manny Llamera and Vilma Miranda, accompaniment by Ptr. Jimmy Salar, Manny Sisi, Efraim Sumaway, and Sharon Lacanilao, the program included a slideshow prepared by Dan Lacanilao, a short segment on misconceptions of Christmas by Ptr. Manny, and a time of sharing thoughts on what Christmas means to each person. Following the message given by the President, Dr. Gadiel T. Isidro, we proceeded to our White Elephant gift exchange. After the program there was a lunch potluck to end the celebration. See the pictures below!

On Monday, Nov. 1, 2010, 31 members of EL International Church Forest Hills made their way by caravan to Cebu Memorial Park to distribute 1500 copies of the tract “Is There Life After The Grave?” Walking for nearly an hour, they embarked on this ministry during the All Souls Day holiday celebrated here in the Philippines where people make an event of visiting their passed loved ones. After distributing all the tracts, they proceeded to a local restaurant for a fellowship breakfast. Please see the pictures below.

On Oct. 17, 2010, we held a baptismal service for 13 individuals who made their public declaration of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Approximately half were from our home church of EL Forest Hills, Cebu City while the other half were members of the Treasure Island Bible Study in Mandaue city. (Next April, 2011, Lord willing, we will be planting a church for the members of the Treasure Island Bible Study, which currently has over 400 employees.) On a side note, this is the first baptismal service that featured live video streaming for those to witness on screen, who otherwise would not have been able to view because of the position of the baptistry. To God be the glory!

On Sunday, September 26th, 2010, we celebrated our 35th EL Foundation Day. The theme was “Sure Foundations,” referring to the firm foundation of our church, who is Jesus Christ our chief cornerstone. Included in our celebration was a musical presentation by the EL Church-Forest Hills Children’s Choir and ELIM Teknon School students under the direction of Mrs. Darlane Yap and a special number given by Mae Sanoy with selected members of the Children’s Choir. There were several greetings included in the bulletin from supporters of EL International Church given by Pastor Joe and Erin Baldivia (CA, USA), Victoria Wilson Darrah (Kampala, Uganda), and Cathy Johnson (Ohio, USA), Immediately following our worship service, over 100 guests came to our dinner fellowship served at the fellowship hall below the sanctuary. We give all the glory back to God for this wonderful milestone! Praise His excellent greatness!